There are currently many heterogeneous systems for collecting, processing, and analyzing data associated with medical patients (i.e., patient data). Traditional information technology (IT) systems may be built to generate data, courier the data through defined secured channels, proprietary or otherwise, to an ecosystem of receivers for further processing, analysis, and exchange. These complex systems may be difficult to manage and maintain over their lifecycles. For instance, technologies may evolve and may be introduced into new ecosystems with uncertain consequences. Furthermore, these systems may be complex in part because of the varying and changeable regulations applicable to patient data. For instance, particular types of patient data cannot be shared with particular individuals or entities without particular types of consent from patients. Furthermore, such regulations may prescribe how patient data must be stored. At the same time, patients and researchers may want to be able to have access to patient data. For instance, patients may want to be able to access their medical records and search results on their mobile computing devices. Furthermore, only limited “security” is applied at the data layer today. For example, varying types of encryption (EAS, Blowfish, DES, etc.) and levels (AES where the key value may be 128 bit, 512 bit, etc.) at various points/components (e.g., the network, firewalls, gateways, storage devices) may exist as data traverses cyber systems, such as the Internet.